Damn Interesting

Damn Write (Reloaded)

Once again, we here at Damn Interesting are in search of proficient purveyors of intriguing information. But as a bit of a departure from our previous writer-replenishment efforts, we now hope to add a larger number of authors with a considerably smaller commitment per person. See the send-a-sample link for specifics.

If you are a talented writer in search of an outlet, we enjoin you to join us. Our fancies are yours to tickle.

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36 COMMENTS

Mike Hearn

Posted 18 August 2007 at 06:45 am

I would be tempted, but unfortunately the lack of feedback from story submissions is rather offputting. I’ve submitted quite a few leads that I thought were pretty interesting, but never heard anything back. Whether this is because it wasn’t the right sort of material, nobody had time, if it got dropped in a spam bucket or if it simply wasn’t interesting – I do not know.

Even a 2-3 sentence reply to a story submission would be much needed encouragement. I love reading the site, I really do, but without some direction it’s hard to know what’s wanted.

boolean

Posted 18 August 2007 at 07:13 am

Mike: If you ask me (which nobody is…) this site could benefit from one feature that has made the snopes community explode – a forum. A place to discuss possible stories, things we heard, a place to keep suggestions, I think it would be great!

justjim1

Posted 18 August 2007 at 08:47 am

From boolean “this site could benefit from one feature that has made the snopes community explode – a forum.” Absolutely right! We all know of storys or related facts that might not quite make it into a full blown article but just have enough meat to become an interesting short tale. A discussion forum just might do the trick. Thanks for the ability to reply, Jim

mogulus

Posted 18 August 2007 at 10:03 am

I just happened onto this site about a week ago. Very good stuff. And i’m willing to approach you as being a writer. I’ll send an email about it. And thanks for having this place, forum or no.

msharek

Posted 18 August 2007 at 11:58 am

Mike Hearn said: “Whether this is because it wasn’t the right sort of material, nobody had time, if it got dropped in a spam bucket or if it simply wasn’t interesting – I do not know.

Even a 2-3 sentence reply to a story submission would be much needed encouragement. I love reading the site, I really do, but without some direction it’s hard to know what’s wanted.”

I’m with Mike. It is hard to justify putting effort into another submission that will just disappear into the ether with no indication if it was even received or reviewed.

HarleyHetz

Posted 18 August 2007 at 02:12 pm

I too have written with no response…

rev.felix

Posted 18 August 2007 at 02:18 pm

boolean said: “Mike: If you ask me (which nobody is…) this site could benefit from one feature that has made the snopes community explode – a forum. A place to discuss possible stories, things we heard, a place to keep suggestions, I think it would be great!”

Yay for fourums!

rabidmonkeychick

Posted 18 August 2007 at 03:00 pm

I’ve been tempted dozens of times. After I finish school. Then maybe after college. Or maybe during college I’ll have time. I’ve submitted an idea before… I could submit a whole essay I suppose…

db

Posted 18 August 2007 at 05:04 pm

I was just gonna say, nifty redesign. Also, I like how articles only come about once/twice a week now. Means I can get enough sleep. What with the comments being almost compulsory reading here, each one is quite an undertaking.

supplex

Posted 18 August 2007 at 06:08 pm

I got plenty of ideas for new articles, stuff that always baffled me or never even knew before but alas i’m no writer (far from it) but if there was a forum maybe i could put some of them in an idea-box of some sort.

This site keeps amazing me with intelligent comments and articles and is, in general a great read.

Illustrator

Posted 18 August 2007 at 10:56 pm

ELEVENTH!!!
As the name says, I’m an illustrator yet I liked
what db said.

db said: “I was just gonna say, nifty redesign. Also, I like how articles only come about once/twice a week now. Means I can get enough sleep. What with the comments being almost compulsory reading here, each one is quite an undertaking.”

Meathammer

Posted 19 August 2007 at 03:02 pm

Meathammer held his head in shame,
For he was deprived his iota of fame,
What a devistating stun,
He was not comment #1,
“Oh my God,” he said. “I’m so lame!”

Sounds cool. I just sent in a sample earlier last week. Why am I reminded of waiting to get picked for a game of dodge ball in elementary school?

supercalafragalistic

Posted 19 August 2007 at 08:20 pm

A Forum sounds pretty cool. The comments are so much fun and they seem like a forum sort of already. I like that the comments are like a conversation between many people and comments get made on previous comments. I like that the comments are preserved and I can read them again and again even months later. I like that the comments are like a piece of writing all by themselves– a creative collaborative written collage in honor of each damn interesting post. I like the silly comments, the super smart comments…. I am in general a liker of all comments. If by writing something I can illicit these comments it would be worth it. Anything fine arts related in the way of sculpture, paintings, drawing, printmaking, crafts, etc. would be my most likely contribution.

Alan Bellows

Posted 19 August 2007 at 10:53 pm

boolean said: “If you ask me (which nobody is…) this site could benefit from one feature that has made the snopes community explode – a forum. “

Forums (as well as a few other nifty add-ons) have been on our wish list for a long time, but they are endlessly postponed due to the considerable time needed to do the job right, and our chronic shortage of writers. Hopefully we can get our writing staff filled back in enough that we have time to invest in such features. We also have some concerns about our poor little webserver weathering a message-board storm, but we may be able to find a way to manage that.

To those who have sent in samples so far, thanks! We’re reading through them by the fistful, and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can (probably within a couple weeks).

Kao_Valin

Posted 20 August 2007 at 06:49 am

So tell me, when you guys read the entries do you attach sticky notes on there with comments like on the site? Do they also get arranged by decending order? Is there someone in the company that throws a blank sticky on there without even reading it just to be first? Those would be some DI answers :)

RancidMare

Posted 20 August 2007 at 07:02 am

Hi…

Long time lurker with ideas above their station.
Many a slack afternoon at work, has led to day dreams of being a writer for DI.
Is there any advice people might give to someone who maybe wants to apply, but really has no experience of writing or is it a “suck it and see” moment ?

Cheers
Ranny.

Radiatidon

Posted 20 August 2007 at 09:11 am

RancidMare said: “Is there any advice people might give to someone who maybe wants to apply, but really has no experience of writing or is it a “suck it and see” moment .”

If you have never written nor been published, here are some starting tips.

1. Pick a title and research, research, research. Use caution if you cannot verify a source. Hearsay will kill your article.

2. Write the article start-to-finish. You will polish it later.

3. Can you read the 1st draft of the article out loud without stumbling through it? If you stumble, fix the potholes.

4. Record yourself reading it, play it back. When you listen to it, does it flow? Note: most people hate how they sound recorded. Who cares what you sound like, you are more interested if the article flows and holds your attention. If not, edit the boring sections.

5. Pass copies out to some friends. Tell them to please be brutal and not hold back. This helps you to overcome unknown writing weakness. Ask them what they thought of the idea, Interesting or yawns-ville. Use their comments to fix the problems, strengthen the weakness.

6. Be sure you don’t have a redundant writer’s voice, voice being how you write, your poise. Make sure your writing does not drone on, like some speakers. No variance in voice, just a long boring drone. Zzzz. If so, spice it up. I think we all had enough schoolbook text induced nappy-times.

I have woken up many a times with a school textbook glued to my face by my own sleep-drool. Glad there are others.

Radiatidon

Posted 20 August 2007 at 02:50 pm

Nicki the Heinous said: “I have woken up many a times with a school textbook glued to my face by my own sleep-drool. Glad there are others.”

.

Um… if only I had been so lucky. Generally I suffered skewering. I would waken from a school textbook induced slumber and/or lecture with my pen protruding from my forehead. Imagine a unicorn with a Bic-pen horn.

Of course most people could understand that, but how I could perform the same with a #2 pencil eraser was beyond them. When people question my forehead scars, I confuse the issue by replying “teen acne scars”. They get wide eyes imagining a puss-bag that could leave craters that large.

Lets not go into how a tri-angle ruler gave me my distinctive caveman brow…

Then there is the school desk whiplash. I still think they should get proper neck rests installed.

;P

Jeffrey93

Posted 20 August 2007 at 04:27 pm

Radiatidon said: “If you have never written nor been published, here are some starting tips.

1. Pick a title and research, research, research. Use caution if you cannot verify a source. Hearsay will kill your article.

2. Write the article start-to-finish. You will polish it later.

3. Can you read the 1st draft of the article out loud without stumbling through it? If you stumble, fix the potholes.

4. Record yourself reading it, play it back. When you listen to it, does it flow? Note: most people hate how they sound recorded. Who cares what you sound like, you are more interested if the article flows and holds your attention. If not, edit the boring sections.

5. Pass copies out to some friends. Tell them to please be brutal and not hold back. This helps you to overcome unknown writing weakness. Ask them what they thought of the idea, Interesting or yawns-ville. Use their comments to fix the problems, strengthen the weakness.

6. Be sure you don’t have a redundant writer’s voice, voice being how you write, your poise. Make sure your writing does not drone on, like some speakers. No variance in voice, just a long boring drone. Zzzz. If so, spice it up. I think we all had enough schoolbook text induced nappy-times.

Once it passes the six steps above, submit it.”

What you just suggested to do is a full time job! Thank God they are only asking for an article every eight weeks, you’d be so bogged down with this ISO 390000001 type process it would take nearly that long to complete.

Write something that is well researched…..and have a girlfriend/boyfriend/cousin/grandpa/neighbor/pet read it over and point out dull parts or how you could improve the flow and ease of reading. That should only take a couple of days, depending on the talent that should be good enough.

Or write a dozen drafts and pass them out to friends and such as suggested…..whatever works.

Meathammer

Posted 20 August 2007 at 04:46 pm

Jeffrey93 said: “What you just suggested to do is a full time job! Thank God they are only asking for an article every eight weeks, you’d be so bogged down with this ISO 390000001 type process it would take nearly that long to complete.”

Ugh, don’t even talk about ISO…the bunch of conformist nazis!

Dave Group

Posted 21 August 2007 at 05:04 am

Radiatidon said: “.

Um… if only I had been so lucky. Generally I suffered skewering. I would waken from a school textbook induced slumber and/or lecture with my pen protruding from my forehead. Imagine a unicorn with a Bic-pen horn.”

Those spiral-ringed binders could make you look like you have a Frankenstein monster scar along the whole side of your face. =O

Radiatidon

Posted 21 August 2007 at 06:16 am

Jeffrey93 said: “What you just suggested to do is a full time job! Thank God they are only asking for an article every eight weeks, you’d be so bogged down with this ISO 390000001 type process it would take nearly that long to complete.

Write something that is well researched…..and have a girlfriend/boyfriend/cousin/grandpa/neighbor/pet read it over and point out dull parts or how you could improve the flow and ease of reading. That should only take a couple of days, depending on the talent that should be good enough.

Or write a dozen drafts and pass them out to friends and such as suggested…..whatever works.”

The steps offered is for someone who has never written nor been published. Thus like learning something new, sweat is involved. It takes someone with either a grasp of the language and some talent, or a very talented individual to slap together letters to create a truly enjoyable structure. Alas there are many who are just hacks that think they have written the next Tale of Two Cities, yet the manuscript is better lining the kitty box.

If you are lucky, and you have a hidden talent, this process should only take a couple of days. After all, did you just jump on a bike and start riding, or did it take a few times before you could?

To become a published writer you will find that the road is not rosy and easy to tread. With the advent of the affordable computer and word processing software, anyone can slam a bunch of words together and hope to be published. Not many of those have training or talent.

Take my words as offered, as a way to hone a hidden talent, or something that is just too much work.

JeffAntonio

Posted 22 August 2007 at 02:49 am

FORUMS!? :D

Sandra Thurston

Posted 24 August 2007 at 10:13 am

I would love to, Alan, only if I could write in english as well as I write in portuguese:) Maybe in 100 years!

ckizer

Posted 26 August 2007 at 11:17 am

I totally understand how difficult it is to keep up writing stories for this site. I think it would be easier if the site got more attention. Thousands of people (especially diggers) read this site, but it’s easy to forgot if you don’t visit it everyday. Since I don’t consider myself a great writer allow me to offer (free) the following services to keep your site going, and attract new talent.

*A slick redesign (no offense) but the site needs a cleaner, sexier look.

*I’ll install pligg (software that lets you have digg style group ‘diggs’) so the site becomes a community.

*I’ll help you install google adwords, or other ad services that aren’t too annoying and will make you money!

*I’ll host your site on one of my dedicated servers (I run hosting business) so it no longer costs you anything but time to keep the site going.

Contact Me if you are interested, I would be thrilled to help!
Best Regards, Court Kizer – kizer@courtkizer.com

Jeffrey93

Posted 27 August 2007 at 05:30 am

Radiatidon said: “The steps offered is for someone who has never written nor been published. Thus like learning something new, sweat is involved. It takes someone with either a grasp of the language and some talent, or a very talented individual to slap together letters to create a truly enjoyable structure. Alas there are many who are just hacks that think they have written the next Tale of Two Cities, yet the manuscript is better lining the kitty box.

If you are lucky, and you have a hidden talent, this process should only take a couple of days. After all, did you just jump on a bike and start riding, or did it take a few times before you could?

To become a published writer you will find that the road is not rosy and easy to tread. With the advent of the affordable computer and word processing software, anyone can slam a bunch of words together and hope to be published. Not many of those have training or talent.

Take my words as offered, as a way to hone a hidden talent, or something that is just too much work.”

In your earnest attempt to dispense a geyser of knowledge on us all, you may have overlooked one thing. I said

depending on the talent

. Nobody is going to, or at least shouldn’t, take writing for DI as the mission that you have described. If they have to, then they shouldn’t be doing it.

Again, what you described is a full-time job. DI is asking for freebies, using that term in the nicest possible way. If anyone out there is willing to go through the process that you have so beautifully itemized they need to seriously look at their priorities. Attributing that much time and effort to this would force me to believe only one thing, you have achieved all of your life’s goals already and are looking for new ones. If that is the case, good for you! If not, focus your time and effort on something a little more beneficial to yourself. Like mastering the hacky-sack.

Again…this is based on talent. Some people have the knack for writing and could pen a DI article without much problem. Those are the type of people required to fill this position. People that depend on your 6 step process to become a DI writer need to find something more suited for their talents. At the very least, they need to hone those talents for quite some time before applying. Maybe by getting the finished product in under 4 enormous steps they could then consider themselves candidates. It would also mean they would be able to contribute to DI and still lead a normal life, you know…have time to get groceries every now and again, possibly fit a bowel movement in between steps here and there.

Simply put, I wouldn’t want to see anybody sacrifice a good portion of their life to planning, drafting, testing, re-writing, recording and polishing a DI article because they don’t have the raw talent to put out a finished product with more ease. Your advice is solid, but too overwhelming for this purpose. If you’re a writer trying to get something published because it’s your livelihood…fine, put that much effort into it. But, if it’s just so you can write an damn interesting article on a Damn cool website? It shouldn’t take nearly that much effort. These articles are being ‘published’ about as much as these comments are, less in fact. Please don’t say a volunteer doing some research and sending in a interesting and well written article has been ‘published’. Unless, of course, you are willing to admit that every contributor to the Comments section has also been ‘published’. I’ll bring up my resume and add ‘published writer’ on it immediately!

Basically your use of ‘Alas’ and ‘Nor’ doesn’t make me feel your writing skills are such that you can justify the underlying arrogance of your “advice”. I’d ask what your qualifications are but realize you could make anything up. I know this because I am smart, I tutored Stephen Hawking in Quantum Physics while also writing all the code for Windows Vista. And yeah…I know it has errors, I put them in there on purpose. Suckers!

That’s my rant….I apologize for it’s length and lack of direction, it’s too early in the morning and I felt like typing stuff before my brain turned on.

tday

Posted 27 August 2007 at 06:41 am

What really amazes me is that I’m associating with people who are so ashamed of their own names that they have to make up monikers like, rabidmonkeychick, and Meathammer.
I would suggest changing your alias before writing a serious article or risk damaging your own integrity .
Great site though, keep it up.

Nicki the Heinous

Posted 27 August 2007 at 02:26 pm

Radiatidon said: “Lets not go into how a tri-angle ruler gave me my distinctive caveman brow…”

Let’s. Most of my scars were caused by embarassing mishaps, so you’re not alone on that front. A rather large one on my forehead was caused by diving off my bunk-bed to my sister’s adjacent bed. This was my traditional bratty-little-sister way of waking her in the morning. I forgot that morning that she and her bed had moved to another room in the house and had been replaced by a rather large dresser. Oops. Gee, I wonder why she moved out of my room? ha ha ha

Kao_Valin

Posted 27 August 2007 at 05:28 pm

tday said: “What really amazes me is that I’m associating with people who are so ashamed of their own names that they have to make up monikers like, rabidmonkeychick, and Meathammer.
I would suggest changing your alias before writing a serious article or risk damaging your own integrity .

Interesting that you don’t use your real name either. It is also interesting to jump to the conclusion that shame is associated with the choice of names. For all you know meathammer could be a professional butcher or chef that is known the world over for *snickers* beating his meat tender. Meathammer could be so proud of this profession that it was immediately thought up in accordance to this pride and selfconfidence.

To judge content first according to the by-line and second according to the article content would be utter madness when it causes ones to ignore something that was truely DI.

Tink

Posted 27 August 2007 at 09:12 pm

tday said: “What really amazes me is that I’m associating with people who are so ashamed of their own names that they have to make up monikers like, rabidmonkeychick, and Meathammer.
I would suggest changing your alias before writing a serious article or risk damaging your own integrity .
Great site though, keep it up.”

“Giggle” Are you Gene Shalit? ;-)

RancidM

Posted 03 September 2007 at 09:12 am

Just a quick thank you to Radiatidon for them helpful hints.
Maybe all is not lost………..now i just need a topic that is both interesting and i know something about….

amazing how quickly the mind can go blank isnt it.

Snapdragyn

Posted 04 October 2007 at 10:38 am

Radiatidon said: “If you have never written nor been published, here are some starting tips.

1. Pick a title and research, research, research. Use caution if you cannot verify a source. Hearsay will kill your article.

2. Write the article start-to-finish. You will polish it later.

3. Can you read the 1st draft of the article out loud without stumbling through it? If you stumble, fix the potholes.

4. Record yourself reading it, play it back. When you listen to it, does it flow? Note: most people hate how they sound recorded. Who cares what you sound like, you are more interested if the article flows and holds your attention. If not, edit the boring sections.

5. Pass copies out to some friends. Tell them to please be brutal and not hold back. This helps you to overcome unknown writing weakness. Ask them what they thought of the idea, Interesting or yawns-ville. Use their comments to fix the problems, strengthen the weakness.

6. Be sure you don’t have a redundant writer’s voice, voice being how you write, your poise. Make sure your writing does not drone on, like some speakers. No variance in voice, just a long boring drone. Zzzz. If so, spice it up. I think we all had enough schoolbook text induced nappy-times.

Once it passes the six steps above, submit it.”

I appreciate your helpful insights. Even those not talented enough to write up an article “off-the-cuff” should be given the opportunity to improve their skills. If you want to write something great you have to work at it, and as you practice your speed will increase until these steps become a natural part of your work. What is listed here isn’t that difficult. I realize this comment is coming after everyone is probably finished with this topic, but I wanted to put my two bits in anyway. Thank you for the advice.

da5id

Posted 30 November 2007 at 12:37 pm

I couldn’t find anywhere more appropriate to add this comment so I would like to say as a new registrant, I found the registration process the easiest ever — does anyone ever fill out those multiple page questionnaires utilized on some sites with any veracity in the first instance? The remainder of the website design, with the kind of pop-out dialogues with translucence is very utilitarian and elegant. Kudos for all involved.

Anthropositor

Posted 29 March 2008 at 12:53 pm

My opinions often leak into my writings. I do not consider myself a journalist or reporter, but a communicator or commentator who does something to persuade, at least some of the time. I solicit no clients and generally turn away most who seek me out, unless I find that their project has some redeeming value. If I help, it is as a consultant/critic/revisionist/editor. Perhaps mentor is the best word, or coach. I never accept ghost writing credits or a byline. I would rather work with a person with a really good idea, without all the requisite skills to bring it to fruition, than a more skilled person without the nugget of a good idea.

I prefer to teach chess, using it as a vehicle to greater proficiency in other areas… a martial arts sport for the mind.

This blog is interesting. It is entertainment. It is popular. I think it can be more. I hope so. Time will tell.

CrispRex

Posted 03 October 2008 at 07:24 am

Here’s a possible topic: Grey Walter and his robotic turtles, not to mention him inventing the EEG. I think he also discovered the P300 wave that mysteriously appears whenever you make a decision, as well as alpha, beta, gamma, delta and theta brainwaves. After Tesla, I consider Walter the most Unsung Hero of Science. PS: Love this site.

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